"Wait, we should check the other doors, in case something can follow us." Oscar says, fingering his shortbow nervously.
A stomach grumbling? wonders the elderly, straining to hear through the silence.
Dervak replies to Oscar, "Okay. You're the smart one. Let's go check the other doors."
"Sure, sounds like a sensible thing to do," replied Mara. She went back to the first room, and checked the double doors on the left for traps (there was no obvious reason that they should be trapped, but she was feeling a bit paranoid). After making sure it was safe, she opened the them and looked beyond.
Dervak will stand next to Mara and also look and listen.
Both Mara and Dervak notice that nearly all the books near the back of the library are scatered across the floor. Dervak however, notices that the back most shelf seems to be gnawed through and has a very small opening leading to another room, far to small for any of you to fit.
Just as you finish taking in the room a heavy tome sails past Mara's head as a fervent chattering can be heard from within the library.
Mara cast a spell to bolster Dervak, and then moved into the library, just beyond the door.
"Hello, who's in here?", Mara said, taking cover in case another book flew her way.
Oscar pokes his head in. "Is it poltergeists?" he asks as a book goes sailing by.
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"We mean you no harm..." offers N'Dateh with her best granma voice.
We don't?
Dervak has enough Wisdom to not say that out loud. He stands back to let the women handle this.
Maybe another ghost? Like Cerio and the child?
As Mara enters the library and the others begin to call out to the presence in the room, a voice can be hear clearly. "Apage humans! tectum ratlings nunc adtinet quando potest habere nos 'perfectus!"
After the voice finishes a small ratlike creature pops into view on top of one of the book shelves while simultaneously a swarm of rats springs into existence at Mara's feet.
"I can't understand what you're saying!", Mara replied.
"Ugh, rats!", she cried in disgust. "Get away from me!" She moved back and stabbed at one of the vermin.
At the sight of rats, Dervak utters what is becoming the traditional rat-killing warcry.
"Dinner!"
Oscar moves into the room, standing between Mara and the rats.
"Oh, ratlings, not poltergeists. Excuse me." he says.
Adjusting his , Oscar focuses his mind and extends a hand at the swarm.
N'Dateh retreats out of the room, unable to do much against such foe, but at least she understands what they're saying: "They claim this is their lair and ask that we leave..." she clarifies, without much hope that it will change anything.
Another swarm and two more ratlings pop into view as two books fly towards Oscar and the rolling wall of rats surge towards the group. They cover Dervak, Mara and Oscar with their furry bodies as they gnaw and bite. Oscar especially is getting gnawed to that bone as he is caught in the meeting point of the swarms.
Dervak sweeps his blade through the swarm, trying to get as many rats as possible.
Probably a miss. But if not,
Seeing her companions bit badly, N'Dateh urges: "Best to flee and leave them alone! I'll close the door behind you. Come!" and she readies to close the door behind the last of them.
Mara started panicking; the furry horrors were everywhere! "Aagh! I have to get out of here!" she cried, running out of the room.
"Ouch ouch ouch! Running running running!" Oscar cries as loads of rats swarm over him.
Oscar stumbles out of the swarm and doesn't stop until he comes up against the stuck doors and sags against them.
The rats converge on Dervak, failing to waiver him, but still sinking hundreds of tiny teeth into his flesh. Though they seem reluctent to leave the library.
"I'm not well equipped to fight these swarming vermin!", Mara declared. "Perhaps we should retreat. Dervak, come to the door if you need healing!"
Dervak is indeed ready to be done with this room.
He takes another swing and moves back through the door.
Once the last of them is through, N'Dateh slams the door shut and leans against it, eyes wide: "Nasty pests!"
Dervak still looked to be covered in scratches, so Mara healed him again.
"Let's check a different door," she said. She moved to the northern door just before the rubble, and listened.
Mara hears nothing behind the door when she presses her ear up against it. Going through the door reveals a busted down wall leading into another room, inside of which are a 3 dead bodies lying on the ground, They seem too have been bludgeoned to death.
Oscar sits down, closing his eyes and grumbling to himself about the painful rat bites all over.
"What's in there?" he asks, leaning against a wall.
"Three dead bodies," Mara called out to Oscar. She looked around the room, she said,"There's a suit of padded armor, a sap, and a nice looking ring."
When she came back out, she saw that Oscar was nursing some rat bites, so she healed him.
"I only have healing remaining for N'Dateh and myself," Mara told the others. "Is everyone OK to continue, or should we stop and rest?"
"I am fine to continue. We also have a wand, I think, and these shirts, whatever they do. I would like to kill the rats but maybe we have some other survivors stitch some clothes together into a swarm suit first."
N'Dateh just smiles at Mara, but goes and takes the sap from her, testing it in her hand and smiling even more.
She resumes her place in Dervak's broad shadow.
Mara listened at the southeast door.
Mara is just barely able to make out light melodic chirping on the other side of the door.
"It sounds like there's birds chirping in there," Mara said.
"I'm going to have a look."
She cast a spell, then opened the door.
N'Dateh draws her saps and slides from Dervak's shadow to Mara's. From behind her shoulder, she spies into the room.
The chirping is like no sound you've ever heard from a bird, almost like something is trying to imitate a bird.
Upon opening the door you find that the room contains quite a few taxedermized animals, as well as two bodies impaled on the antlers of some of the larger game on the walls. Empty bird cages sit opposite the impaling antlers and seem to be the source of the chirping.
The bodies are clad in torn, yellow robes with amulets around there necks and saps in their hands. On the table is a charm bracelet with what seems to be one charm on it
Mara advanced into the room cautiously."Daddy, reveal magic auras to me," she said, looking around, starting with the empty bird cages.
N’Dateh puts her sap away promptly. She looks at the floor under where the bodies are impaled, trying to figure if someone threw them at the antlers, or if the goring took place somewhere else in the room.
”Chirps with no bird..?” she muses out loud, sounding enigmatic.
The bird cages emit a faint necromatic aura, upon people entering the room the chirping raises to a small bit of squaking and fluttering.
N'Dateh can find little to no signs of a struggle, it's almost as if the poor cultists where simply dropped on horns.
Sorcery at work here...
Dervak moves in the room slowly. He is looking around, but more concerned about mental intrusion.
Oscar will enter, focusing through his goggles and casting Detect Magic, though the only evidence of his casting is the faint blue glow coming from behind the lenses.
"Curious... why would the birdcage bear a necromantic aura?" he mutters to himself. "We should be careful in here in case there's more to this than meets the eye."
With no sign of imminent danger, N'Dateh starts searching the room.
As soon as N'Dateh starts pawing around the room, the chirping and fluttering turns into a cacophony of screeches and gusts. Everyone feels very light for a moment.
"Grrr..."
"I can't tell where that's coming from!", Mara declared, her eyes darting around the room.
"Birds! The cage! Dervak, destroy it!" Oscar concludes.
Why did SONGBIRDS leave a ghost behind?!?!
Dervak is lifted ten feet into the air, the bird cages begin to rattle violently as he does so.
"Daddy, what kind of spirits are these?", Mara muttered under her breath, casting a spell. She looked around the room, trying to understand what was happening.